One-Shot The lonely sailor and hopeless romantic little girl
by Sanjin
Summary: In the docks of Konoha there is a little girl sitting by herself, well not exactly by herself, her friend usually arrives in this time. The girl patiently waits for him with her feet resting inside the water as she scouts for fish. Her name is Sakura Haruno and she is a dreamer. She believes that if a girl waits long enough, they can have any man they want.


One-Shot "The lonely sailor and hopeless romantic little girl"

Setting: Alternate Naruto World

Rating: E for Everyone

Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto and making zero profit with this

Pairings: Itachi x Sakura

* * *

In the docks of Konoha there is a little girl sitting by herself, well not exactly by herself, her friend usually arrives in this time. The girl patiently waits for him with her feet resting inside the water as she scouts for fish. Her name is Sakura Haruno and she is a dreamer. She believes that if a girl waits long enough, they can have any man they want.

She is young. She doesn't understand love, but no matter how much her friend tries to convince her. She never gives up on her idea of love.

Then, from a distance, the vision of a small boat appears and she immediately stands up. She places her hand just above her eyebrows, creating a shade for her eyes to see easily.

"It's him!" she squeals happily, jumping up and down.

She has been coming down these docks for the past few days and considering her family have died during an invasion a long time ago, she isn't really well looked out for. She goes where he pleases, and so far no one has ever thought to snatch her away, or commit a crime.

She's lucky that the man she's 'in-love' with isn't some creep. He does think it's cute to have such a young 'secrete admirer', one time he would go to his boat and there was a letter.

He would open it and find the sweetest words, so he figures that if she's going to go wandering in town. It might as well be to him, just to make sure she doesn't actually go to some creep.

The boat finally arrives and the girl jumps in once it stops, "Itachi!" The girl squeals and launches herself unto Itachi, "Hey, I smell like fish you know. Do you really want to hug me right now?" He said, laughing, but the girl just shakes her head, "I don't care. I waited for you for so long, mother Mary thought I was sleeping over at the docks or something."

"How many times did I tell you to stop giving mother Mary a hard time." Itachi sighs, but not in a disappointed way. He just wants her to be better, especially since mother Mary is an orphan mother. She looks after a lot of kids, so he's not too surprised this sneaky one manages to escape her grasps.

"Okay...I'll try..." Sakura said and Itachi wasn't sure if she'll try or not, "But did you find me it?" Sakura happily claps her hands together. Itachi's smile disappears and he sighs, "I didn't. It's hard finding the angel fish you wanted, especially the place where I go to...I don't think I can."

Sakura smile disappears and she sits down on the side of his boat with her head resting against the palms of her hands. "I guess the angel fish is just impossible to find..."

Itachi looks at her, sort of disappointed in himself for not finding it. He knows a good spot where there's almost always one, but he would have to go through the part of the ocean where it's whirlpools are common.

Itachi tries to raise the tension of the air by picking up the girl and setting her down on the dock. The girl stands there with a puzzled look and Itachi climbs overboard with a smirk on his face, "Tell you what. How about we go to the ramen bar and see what they have. You like ramen, don't you?"

"I guess..." the girl said and Itachi throws his hands into the air, "That's what I'm talking about! You always feel better after a bowl of ramen, if that doesn't work then I don't know what would."

"An angel fish would..." Sakura whispers.

Itachi bites his lips, pondering of things they could do together to make her happy, but nothing pops in his head. He hangs his shoulders to his side with a defeat until an idea pops into his head and he raises his hand with his finger pointing in the air.

"Oh, how about after we go out and eat. I can read you a story book and if you take away that frown, I might also visit mother Mary."

"Really?!" The girl was ecstatic that Itachi was going to visit she almost forgets about the Angel fish and the smile Itachi waited to see brings a smile to his face, "Really." Itachi replied to assure her.

The girl grabs Itachi's hand and forcefully pulls him outside of the docks, "Then hurry, let's go and eat!" Itachi leans back while having himself dragged to the Ramen bar.

The two arrive in the busy streets of Konoha, quite opposite of the docks since it's peaceful and silent over there. Here it's loud and not at all isolated. Sakura is still moving at top speed, which is average adult walking, but it's still cute seeing her fired up over something so little.

The determination in her eyes and Itachi isn't really having a hard time as well. He's technically being dragged so he's not exactly walking and the girls around him are giving him looks. It's like having an adorable little girl boss you around attracts all the women around him.

The problem is...

Whenever one tries to get close...

"Hey there Itachi! I haven't seen you since high school." One of the Itachi's old friends and a really good looking girl approaches him and Itachi smiles back, "Hey In-"

Sakura shoots a glare over at the girl and yells, "He's mine!" leaving Itachi and his old friend confused. Sakura would do this to whoever tries to start a conversation and even if it's not a girl, Sakura isn't stopping for anything.

Itachi doesn't mind anyways, the reason he goes on trips is to get away from all of this. The media, people, everything. He didn't like mainstream stuff and when he goes on the ocean. He can really admire the true beauty of the world.

The two finally arrive at the Ramen bar and enjoy a good meal.

"Itachi!" Sakura screams, waving her hand back and forth to get his attention, "We're almost at mother Mary's!"

Itachi is sitting by himself on the bench, leaving space for Sakura, but she's too stubborn to waste any more time for useless things. She needs him to read the story and maybe it'll make him understand how she feels.

"Let's take a break for a while Sakura. It's not common for the park to be empty." Its already night, of course it's empty, but Itachi's probably been away from civilization for so long to remember that. He leans backwards, sipping of a box ice tea and looks at Sakura who's acting like it's the end of the world.

She's dragging herself across the floor with a impatient look on her face, "If we don't hurry now...we might never get the chance to read it. Mother Mary always makes us sleep early at night. I don't think she'll allow you to read me anything if it's late."

Itachi takes a small pause and finally sighs, "Okay, okay, I'm coming." He tosses his box iced tea in the trash and stands up, throwing his left hand up. Sakura looks at it angrily and shakes her head, "You've lost the privilege to get dragged."

Sakura turns her head and pouts, walking away.

Itachi just smiles and shakes his head, "Lost the right to get dragged, oh how unlucky of me." he said sarcastically and follows behind Sakura.

The two finally made it to mother Mary and after a few begging pleas from Sakura. Mother Mary allows Itachi to read her one story.

The two enter her bedroom which is shared by the other little kids, and in the far corner of the big room is her own bed. She leads Itachi there and Itachi sits on the small chair beside the bed. He looked so out of place sitting on such a small chair, but it's for Sakura and he doesn't mind. He's almost like a child himself, despite being an adult.

Sakura walks over to the toy chest and digs around it, "I found it!" she squeals and hands the book to Itachi. Itachi's eyes widened as he stare into the book. It's a picture book, but it's not a regular picture book. It's a homemade picture book and it looks like it was drawn by a little kid.

"You wrote this yourself?" Itachi guesses and Sakura jumps on her bed, hiding herself among the many sheets of her bed, "I did!"

"It's not bad..." Itachi smirks, quickly turning throughout the pages and looks at all the pictures, but before he reaches the last part of the book, Sakura grabs his hand and shakes her head, "No, don't read it all yet. I want you to read everything to me. It will spoil it if you read it without reading it to me."

"Okay..." Itachi said, puzzled, he just shrugs his shoulders and starts from the beginning, the title.

"_The story of the lone sailor and the romantic girl._

_Once upon a time, there was a lone sailor. The sailor was so lonely that each and every waking day of his life. He would beg god to give him a friend and so one day, god did. God created a beautiful girl with all the nicest things in the world and said, "Lonely sailor who wishes for the coolest friend in the world, I have given you something better than that!"_

_God opens his hand and a small pink hair girl with the most beautiful looks, far more beautiful than the girls of the market..."_

Itachi looks over at her, "I'm the lonely sailor...? I do have friends you know." Itachi argued and Sakura just waves her hand, "Shut up and keep reading..."

Itachi raises his brow and sets the book down. Sakura stares at him and sighs, "Okay, I'm sorry...keep reading..."

"Keep reading..." Itachi looks at her like she left something out.

"Keep reading...please..."

Itachi smiles and nods his head.

"_The girl was left with the lonely sailor and the lonely sailor was so jealous with the girl. He decided to find something wrong with the girl, but every time he tried to find something wrong with her he would fail miserably."_

Itachi shakes his head, trying to hold back his laughter. He looks really pathetic in this book, but it's just a homemade children's book so he isn't really mad. He continues on.

"_Day after day, the girl would pull some amazing tricks and show how cool she is. The sailor couldn't help but fall in love with her and little did the sailor know. The girl had already fallen in love with him. It was like God had created her to love him."_

It was at this moment, Itachi didn't want to continue. He didn't like where this is going. He knows Sakura likes him, but he can't allow this to continue. It's just not right, "Sakura..." Itachi said, slightly annoyed, but Sakura is still urging him to go on.

"Please, at least read it to the end..."

"I can't. I already told you. I'm too old for you and it's not going to change even if I read the end. I don't want you to get hurt. I can't let you have misunderstandings..."

Sakura bites her lips, trying to fight back tears. She worked so hard on this story. She has to at least make him finish it, then, and only then will she know.

"Please...Please...Please Itachi..." she begs him and Itachi finally gives in, "Okay, but I don't like this."

"_At the end of the year, the girl and the lonely sailor stood at the dock they've actually met at. The girl would present a gift for him and the lonely sailor would present a gift for her. They had this tradition for a long time already, so today was supposed to be a normal day, but the girl had something else in mind. She wanted him to remember this day forever so she made her gift extra special. The two meet at the hour of twelve and with stars, and moon shining down at them. They present their gifts._

_The lonely sailor brings out a small plastic container with a beautiful fish inside of it and the fish was called an angel fish. The reason he gave her an angel fish was because it was like how god gave her to him. The pink haired angel..._

_The girl loved it and was super happy about it. She then presents her gift and leans forward to press her lips against..."_

"S-Sakura..." Itachi sighs, "I...thought you understood our relationship is not like this..." he said.

Sakura sits up on her bed and pouts, "What's wrong with the relationship in the book." Sakura turns her head angrily at another direction and Itachi just shakes his head.

"It's not real..." Itachi admits and Sakura felt her heart skip a beat. She tries to force back her tears, but it's not working and she starts to shed silent tears. She knows that if Mother Mary hears her crying. She would never get to see Itachi again.

"It's not fair...that's what it is. Why can't you love me...It's not fair. I thought...I thought that if I loved you long enough...I thought you would love me."

"Its not going to be like that." Itachi tells her, "And..." he has to make sure she will never try this again. She has to move on to better things. He is not the answer of a boyfriend, "And...It will never be..."

Sakura tries to keep her sobs quiet, but Itachi notices as well and she buries her face into her pillow, "You never do anything for me. I waited for you, but you still don't do anything for me. You never brought me an Angel fish. You've never told me that your happy I always waited for you at the docks...you never praised me...you never...you never loved me...Are you going to leave me to? Are you going to leave me like how my parents leave me? Are you Itachi...is the final time I'm going to see you?"

"Sakura..." Itachi said. He looks over at the window, "Perhaps it's for the best if you stop visiting me at the docks..."

He then stands up and walks away, leaving Sakura, stunned.

* * *

"Itachi, come with us. We can show you a good time." a few drunk, good looking girls walk over to Itachi who's walking down the streets of Konoha. Itachi is a good looking young man and he could easily get a good looking girl for tonight. He also has enough money to drown this terrible night away, but for some reason. He didn't felt like it.

"Leave me alone for a while okay...I have to think." Itachi said, walking away, but the girls looked persistent. They kept following him and poking him around, but Itachi would deny them everything time. It got to the point where it was plainly irritating and Itachi finally looks behind them.

He realizes what he lost and it's finally beginning to set in.

"Why do I settle for girls like you..." he said, "Why do I settle for girls like you, when there was a girl who waited for me for so long..." he clicks his tongue and laughs at his pitiful self. The girls just weirdly laugh along with him.

"It's almost new years and this guy is acting as if he's an old father who doesn't have time for love." The girls said, confusedly shooting glances at each other like Itachi was insane.

They soon leave, but they also left quite an impression on him. He walks away from the scene and notices something odd...

"New years..."

His mouth partly open when he discovers it and he felt out of breath. The sight was too overbearing and with one nod he finally understands why Sakura wanted to show him that book today. He runs to his friend and on the way he screams at the girls picking on another person, "Hey thanks for the tip!"

It's six o clock and Sakura is waiting at the docks. It's during this time Itachi would show up, and his boat is here, the problem is, there's no Itachi. She already looked inside, but no one was there.

"Is Itachi really tired of me...?" Sakura whispers, sitting by her lonely self and playing with the water by using her feet. She waited for nearly two hours and the sun is long gone. There were some worried villagers who stopped by, but Sakura told them it was alright.

"I'm just waiting for a...friend..." she stops herself from moving forward. She knows Itachi hates that. She's not going to do it anymore. She just wants to be his friend now.

It's getting too dark and mosquitoes invade these parts in the night so she walks over to the town. That's when she looks inside one of the coffee shops and could see Itachi sitting inside of it. She smiles and runs directly at him, only to stop halfway. Itachi isn't sitting by himself.

"Who's that...?" she whispers, her excitement fading. It's a much older women, and when she means older, it's just older like Itachi. Her heart felt like it was breaking and she quickly turns her back and runs away.

Her feet crunching against the rocks below her and before she could run away from the coffee shop, the door opens and Itachi is walking outside with a smile on his face, "Sakura...?" he notices her and walks over to her, "Hey, Sakura...I got surprising news to tell you."

"You don't have to tell me anything!" Sakura screams, "I know already!"

"You do?" Itachi clicks his tongue, "And here I was hoping I could tell you at midnight."

"Midnight...you mean at the docks...at midnight?" It caught Sakura's attention all too well and Itachi laughs, "Yea, midnight..." he then hears the voice of a girl and looks behind him, "Alright, I'm coming." he then looks back at Sakura, "Come to the docks at midnight alright, don't be late."

* * *

It's midnight and Sakura is standing by herself with her book closely against her chest. Itachi told her to meet her here, but he's probably still playing with that other girl. She sighs and was about to leave until she notices Itachi standing right behind her with a plastic container.

She literary almost falls from her surprised.

"It's just like my book..." she said and Itachi just smiles. The unknown girl is still there, but this time Sakura could clearly see her face. It's Mother Mary, "We're you with mother Mary the whole time?" Sakura asked.

"I thought you were with another girl..."

Itachi just laughs and shakes his head, "Why would I do that when I have one already waiting for me." he grins and kneels down, "Are you going to accept my gift or am I supposed to throw this angel fish back in the water."

Sakura smiles and runs over to Itachi. Itachi opens the plastic container and Sakura watches beautiful Angel fish swim by itself, "But how?" she wondered and Itachi points over at Mother Mary, "It looks like she has a boat big enough to ride whirlpools, pretty cool huh?" he smiles and Sakura nods her head.

"Is this your gift?" She asked, ready to give him his and Itachi quickly covers his lips with his hands, carefully, "It's not the full gift. I have a better gift to give you." he winks at her and then gestures to mother Mary who brings out a piece of paper and hands it over to Sakura.

"What's this...?"

"Read it...consider it...my little story." Itachi grins and Sakura reads the paper.

_Itachi Uchiha._

_By law, do you take full responsibility for this child? _

There is a neat hand writing beside the question and it read...

_Yes._

_Do you vow to not abuse your power as a parent, but show love and care for this child?_

_Yes. _

_Itachi Uchiha._

_You are now the proud parent of..._

_Sakura Haruno. _

There was a slow pause and then the information finally registers inside Sakura's head and at that moment. The clock finally strikes twelve and she jumps on Itachi, hugging him, "I have a new father?" she screams, "I have a new father!"

"Yea, and it also means you don't have to hand me your gift."

"Why not?" Sakura asked and Itachi embraces her as well, "Because having you as my child is already a blessing..." he kisses her on her cheek.

(Two years later)

"Sakura can you grab me my fishing pole."

"Yes...papa...why do I have to call you dad. It's really weird." she said and Itachi just laughs, "Because by law you're my daughter."

there was a small smirk on Sakura face and she shakes her head, adopting Itachi's usual reaction, "You think this is going to make me give up on handing my true gift?"

Itachi doesn't hear her clearly and looks back at her, "What did you say?"

Sakura just smiles and hands him the fishing pole, "Here you go papa..." she winks and thus the story ends about the lonely Sailor and the hopelessly romantic girl.


End file.
